Leadership Hacks, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10Hybrid Success

One of the largest questions on most leaders' minds is how do we make hybrid work? Work was traditionally done within the confines of four walls in an office environment that allowed us to see, hear and interact with others on a regular basis. With a hybrid workplace this changes that dynamic, including the culture that people work in. Jared Spataro, CVP at Microsoft 365, summed it up perfectly in the Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index when he said, ‘Over the past 12 months we've figured out how to get things done when everyone was working from home. Now we need to rethink how to handle that messy middle — when some people are together in person and others are remote’.

A fundamental shift has occurred with ‘work’ now being something that people do — not the place they go to. For some organisational cultures this will be an easy transition, while others will struggle. Success will be determined by what staff do and what leaders do and the culture that is created to support them.

Success in the hybrid workplace will be dependent on three key areas:

1. the culture that is created to enable sustainable performance in the hybrid workplace
2. how people are set up for success when working remotely
3. how leaders lead, connect and encourage their people working remotely.

The Hybrid Success model shown in figure 10.1 provides a useful framework to follow.

Figure 10.1 ...